Online Dating and Relationships

One in ten Americans have used an online dating site or mobile dating app; 66% of these online daters have gone on a date with someone they met through a dating site or app, and 23% have met a spouse or long term partner through these sites.

Public attitudes toward online dating have become more positive in recent years, but many users also report negative experiences. Social networking sites have emerged as a venue for navigating the world of dating and relationships. These are among the results of a national survey of dating and relationships in the digital era, the first dedicated study of this subject by the Pew Research Center’s Internet Project since 2005. Key findings include:

• 11% of Internet users (representing 9% of all American adults) say that they have personally used an online dating site. As recently as 2008, just 3% of American adults had used online dating sites.
• 7% of cell phone apps users (representing 3% of all American adults) say that they have used a dating app on their cell phone.

Taken together, 11% of all American adults are “online daters”—meaning they have used a dating site or mobile dating app. Online dating is especially common among the college-educated and those in their mid-20’s through mid-40’s, and 38% of Americans who are currently single and actively looking for a partner have used online dating at one point or another.